5th Gear Blogged

Nobody likes dust, especially racers, off-road racers in particular. It is our nemesis, always working against our forward momentum on the course and threatening our safety. As nasty as it is, it is a part of off-roading that you must deal with. Recently a couple of YouTube vids caught one of the worst-case scenarios when the dust is so thick you can’t cut it with a samurai sword.

During a recent WORCS race at Glen Helen a massive pile-up occurred on one of the race parks notoriously dusty ridges. It’s a scary situation to say the least, but it could have been avoided. Some say the promoter should not have run that ridge because of the dust, but I disagree. This wreck amounts to everyone being too hyped up to recognize that they should slow down and make up the time on the parts of the course that had better visibility.

You wouldn’t go full tilt in the pitch-black night without a light, and riding in choking dust is no different. Slow down, wait it out. The race isn’t won on the first lap, it’s won on the last. But you have to get to that last lap first and many of these riders didn’t give themselves that chance.

Check out the vids, digest them, and remember them when you can’t see further than your reactions can handle. Sometimes you have to slow down to go fast.

There is some cursing in the first video, so turn the sound down if you are at work.



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